Biography
Robert Rhett Slagel is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and industrial executive with more than three decades of experience founding, scaling, acquiring, and divesting industrial and infrastructure-based companies. He currently serves as CEO and President of Portable Solutions Group Resources, LLC and the Slagel Family Office, and leads Owner’s Co-Pilot, LLC, a specialized sell-side advisory firm focused on preparing founder- and family-owned businesses for successful divestment.
Mr. Slagel and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Ironton, Ohio, where they raised their three children. Their son, Mason Slagel, is currently completing his MBA at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Their daughters, Georgia and Lillian Slagel, are graduates of Miami University (Ohio) and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), respectively. Elizabeth Slagel is the founder of Weymouth Hill, a wedding and event venue located near their home in Ironton.
Until late 2024, Mr. Slagel was President, CEO, and Owner of Portable Solutions Group (PSG), a diversified industrial platform headquartered in Ironton, Ohio. Under his leadership, PSG grew into a global provider of containerized and portable solutions for sanitation, security, and infrastructure needs, serving customers on six continents. In late 2024, Mr. Slagel successfully sold his final block of operating businesses to private equity. Robert currently sits on the Board of Directors for VitalSpace, the newly formed company now owned by private equity.
PSG’s operating companies included Modular Security Systems, Inc. (MSSI), DropBox, Inc., and Portable Solutions Manufacturing, an in-house engineering and manufacturing division. MSSI, headquartered in southern Ohio with manufacturing operations in Wurtland, Kentucky, produces high-security modular and containerized solutions distributed throughout North America and internationally. Mr. Slagel is the named inventor on 40 patents across 36 countries, reflecting his long-standing focus on innovation and intellectual property development.
In 2000, Mr. Slagel founded DropBox, Inc., a company specializing in the importation, distribution, and engineering modification of ISO shipping containers. DropBox operates from major U.S. cities and provides advanced container-based solutions, including applications related to homeland security and battery-powered energy storage. The company has evolved into a full-service engineering and modification firm serving both public- and private-sector clients.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Slagel founded Storage on the Spot, Inc. in 1999, a portable storage container rental business operating in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. He sold the company in 2019, and it continues to operate successfully out of Ironton, Ohio. He also recently sold Industrial Sanitation, Inc., d/b/a Johnny on the Spot, a legacy business founded in 1958 by his grandfather, Robert B. Slagel, and one of the earliest portable restroom companies in the United States.
Prior to becoming an owner-operator, Mr. Slagel worked with American Electric Power (1986–1992), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (1993–1994), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1995–2000), building a strong foundation in engineering, environmental regulation, and infrastructure development.
Mr. Slagel has served on the Board of Directors of the Lawrence County, Ohio Port Authority and as Vice Chairman of the Board for the City of Ironton Port Authority, which he helped establish. His achievements have been recognized nationally and regionally, including being named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 by U.S. Congressman Ted Strickland and receiving the “20 Under 40” award from the Huntington Herald-Dispatch in 2004.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Ohio University and a Master of Engineering from the University of Idaho. Mr. Slagel is a Registered Professional Geologist in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky.
Deeply committed to regional economic development, Mr. Slagel works closely with the Tri-State Construction and Building Trades Council to advance industrial growth in Appalachia. He remains a strong advocate for opportunities that enable the people of Appalachia to build sustainable prosperity.